Vulnerability
by SkyGem
Summary: Everyone has insecurities, and everyone has fears. And no matter how strong and confident they may seem, the Vongola guardians are no different. And when those insecurities and fears rise to the surface, who else should the guardians turn to but their Decimo? Who else would they allow to see them in their most vulnerable of states but their one and only sky? Two-shot. No pairings.
1. Cloud, Sun, and Lightning

Summary: Everyone has insecurities, and everyone has fears. And no matter how strong and confident they may seem, the Vongola guardians are no different. And when those insecurities and fears rise to the surface, who else should the guardians turn to but their Decimo? Who else would they allow to see them in their most vulnerable of states but their one and only sky? Two-shot. No pairings.

SkyGem: To those who were waiting for this: sorry for getting it out so late. And to those who have no idea what I'm talking about: remember how I told you I would occasionally be posting a one-shot? Well, this is one of those. I had the idea, and I had the time, so I decided to write it. Hope you guys like!

Disclaimer: I don't own KHR.

* * *

It was on a beautifully sunny day that it happened.

Tsuna was in the middle of signing through the stacks and stacks of paperwork on his desk when Lambo burst through the doors of his office, out of breath, his expression frantic.

Immediately picking up on his youngest guardian's distress, Tsuna quickly got up from his seat, making his way to the eleven-year-old.

"Lambo? What's wrong?" he asked, concern colouring his voice.

"I-it's Kyoya-nii!" gasped out the boy after he had gotten his breath back, and the blood drained from Tsuna's face.

The skylark, who had undertaken a very high-risk mission only a week before, wasn't due back until the day after tomorrow at the very earliest. What could have happened to make him come home so early?

"What happened to him?" asked Tsuna, already making his way to the infirmary.

"He's really badly hurt," said Lambo, his voice shaking, but not from fatigue. "Tsuna-nii...Ryohei-nii said that his injuries were r-really bad…do you t-think he might d-d-die?"

This question set Tsuna's head to spinning; his cloud, his family member, might…die?

Instead of answering Lambo's question, though, instead of reassuring him, he picked up his pace, the twenty-year-old all but sprinting to the infirmary, Lambo struggling to keep up but inevitably falling behind.

Stopping outside the infirmary doors, Tsuna took a moment to compose himself, and to prepare himself for what he was about to see, then opened the doors to enter.

The infirmary was a flurry of activity, with doctors rushing around, looking busy, with Ryohei and three other sun flame users bent over Kyoya's prone body, working furiously.

Tsuna stood, watching them numbly as they worked.

He stood there for nearly two hours, watching them, a small part of his mind realizing that Lambo hadn't turned up at the infirmary. How curious.

Suddenly, Ryohei sat back from his hunched position over Kyoya and let out a small sigh of relief, his assistants mirroring his motion.

At this point, the four sun flame users and Tsuna were the only ones still in the room, other than Kyoya, of course. The other doctors had left halfway through, finding there was nothing else for them to do.

As Tsuna took a step forward, relief beginning to bubble up inside him, Ryohei's head snapped around, his expression fiercely protective. When it came to his patients, the normally really friendly boxer could become as fierce as a mother bear protecting her cubs, and would usually not allow anyone to bother them.

Upon seeing Tsuna, though, Ryohei's expression softened and he got up, motioning for Tsuna to take his chair.

"The wounds were deep, some reaching to his bone, but we were lucky that we got to him before infection settled in," explained the sun as Tsuna sat down in his previous seat. "All that's left now are some scars, and probably some soreness. Otherwise, he's good as new."

Tsuna smiled gratefully at his sun, not knowing what to say, but it seemed his message had gotten through, because Ryohei just smiled in reply before ushering his assistants out ahead of him to give his boss some alone time with the unconscious skylark.

Tsuna looked back at the older male, and had to bite back a smile.

Kyoya's face was so vastly different in his sleep than when he was awake. Right now, the cloud's face was screwed up into an expression of childish discontent and he was, dare he say it, pouting…?

Suddenly, though, Kyoya's eyes flew open, his expression becoming slightly startled as he sat up, whipping his head from side to side, as if searching for something.

Then, his eyes landed on the table by his bed, where his blood-soaked tonfas were lying, and he let out a small breath of relief.

"They must be very important to you…" said Tsuna, and Hibari whipped his head around to stare at him.

There was a moment of silence before the older male nodded shortly, saying, "Hn."

"Where did you get them…?" asked Tsuna, and genuine curiousity in his voice.

For a second, it looked as if he wouldn't get an answer, but then, Kyoya said curtly, "From my father."

Tsuna couldn't help the small smile that came onto his face when he heard this. It was rare for Kyoya to talk about himself.

"What was your father like?" he asked, trying to keep the conversation going.

Kyoya's eyes narrowed at this and he let out a little snarl. "He was a disgusting excuse for a human being who used to abuse my mother and I when I was younger."

This startled Tsuna out of the happy mood he had fallen into, and he was left speechless.

There was a moment's silence before Kyoya continued with, "But he was still my father…"

Tsuna really had no idea how to reply to that, shocked as he was by the suddenly almost vulnerable expression that crossed his cloud guardian's face for the shortest of seconds.

The skylark's next question, however, shocked him even more.

"Omnivore…what's it like to have a father that…loves you…?"

Tsuna was speechless for a few seconds more before shaking his head and smiling wryly, saying, "I'm sorry, Kyoya, but I have no idea. My father was never around enough for me to know the answer to that question."

"Hn," said Kyoya, his expression closing up again as he turned his face away.

* * *

Tsuna looked up from the book he was reading when he heard a knock on the door.

Frowning slightly (it was rather rare for someone to interrupt him during his 'alone time'), Tsuna called, "Come in!"

As the door opened slowly, Ryohei poked his head into the room almost timidly, looking around the room before noticing Tsuna on the bed.

Smiling brightly, Tsuna beckoned the boxer in, asking, "Is there something wrong, onii-san?"

The older male just smiled absently before entering the room and approaching Tsuna's bed.

Sitting down, he said in an unusually quiet voice, "I need a few months off, Tsuna."

Looking suddenly alarmed, Tsuna asked, "Why? Is there something wrong? Do you need help-?"

"No!" interrupted Ryohei, shaking his head quickly, "It's nothing like that! It's just…Kyoko is getting married…"

"Oh," said Tsuna in reply, surprised. The brunet had long gotten over his crush on the sweet girl that was his sun guardian's younger sister, so he could feel nothing but joy for his friend upon hearing this news. "So you want to return to Japan and help with the wedding?"

Ryohei nodded uneasily, his expression hopeful. "I'm sorry to the extreme, I know I'm asking a lot, but Tsuna…I'm the only one she can-!"

"It's fine, onii-san!" interrupted Tsuna hastily, trying to get his older brother figure to calm down a little. "You can take as long as you need, alright? Just make sure you don't forget to invite us!"

Ryohei smiled gratefully in reply, his expression relieved.

"Thank you so much, Tsuna…" he said, still in that same, unusually quiet voice. "You have no idea how much this means to me, or how much it will mean to Kyoko. You see, our parents were always so busy when we were younger, and I practically raised Kyoko myself. She would be a lot less nervous if I were there to help her plan."

Tsuna nodded in understanding at this.

"You took up boxing to protect her, didn't you?" he asked, voicing his suspicions for the first time.

Ryohei smiled wryly in reply. "At first, yes, I did. She was often bullied when she was younger; you know how little boys pick on girls they like."

An amused smile crossed Tsuna's face when he heard this, and he nodded for him to continue.

"And, well, since she didn't like brawling, I decided that I'd have to find a kind of fighting that she didn't mind. So I took up boxing."

"And you fell in love with it," replied Tsuna knowingly, and Ryohei smiled sheepishly.

"That's right."

There was comfortable silence for a few minutes after that before Tsuna decided to ask, "So, do you approve of the groom?"

Ryohei cracked a half-hearted smile at this, saying, "Yes. He's a wonderful guy, and I know he'll treat my Kyoko like she deserves…"

"…But…?" asked Tsuna, knowing there was more coming.

"But…I'm scared. I'm so scared Tsuna. W-what if…what if Kyoko doesn't need me anymore? Soon, she will have a husband to protect her in case someone tries to do something to her. Where will that leave me…? Will she forget about me? I don't want that to happen, Tsuna. I love her too much. I wouldn't be able to stand it-"

Tsuna immediately cut of his rambling by grabbing the older male's hand in his own and looking into his eyes.

When Ryohei had stopped talking, Tsuna smiled, and said, "You're her precious big brother, Ryohei. Like you said, you're the one that practically raised her; the one that protected her all those times. Don't think so lowly of yourself. She definitely loves you as much as you love her, which means she can never stop needing you. It's just that she now has one more guy by her side that will help make your job a little easier and keep her safe when you can't be there."

Ryohei drank this all in greedily, as if he had been wanting desperately to hear those exact words.

A relieved smile crossing his face, Ryohei pulled his surrogate brother into a hug and whispered, "Thanks."

* * *

"There you are, Lambo! I'm so sorry I'm late!"

A head of curly black hair swiveled around to look at Tsuna, wide green eyes showing immense relief.

The boy ran towards his older brother figure, hugging him around his waist.

"You came!" said the boy, clinging to Tsuna as if he were a lifeline.

Surprised at the clinginess of his youngest guardian, which he had thought had disappeared years before, Tsuna just smiled reassuringly, saying, "Of course I came. Why wouldn't I?"

Lambo ducked his head at this, a blush creeping up the skin of his neck and onto his cheeks as he scuffed his feet in the dirt.

The boy didn't say anything, merely pulling Tsuna towards the limo that would take them home.

Tsuna followed obediently, not saying anything, and when they had finally closed the door and the driver had taken off, Lambo leaned into Tsuna's side, his arms going around the older male's waist and his head burying in his chest.

"Lambo?" asked Tsuna, starting to get really worried. "What's wrong?"

"You were late," whispered the boy, "You're never late!"

"I know, I'm sorry, but something came up."

"Lambo-sama was scared, so scared that Tsuna-nii had abandoned him too…"

"What? What the hell are you talking about, Lambo?"

"L-Lambo-sama knows that he's not the n-n-nicest person, or that he c-can be really annoying, b-but, please don't make Lambo-sama go away! Lambo-sama promises to try his best to be good boy, but please don't send L-Lambo-sama back to _them_! Lambo-sama wants to stay with Tsuna-nii!"

"W-what? Lambo, what makes you think I'd ever abandon you?"

"Nobody likes Lambo-sama," the boy said, shaking his head. "Everyone thinks it would be better without Lambo-sama there to bother them!"

"That's not true, Lambo!" exclaimed Tsuna, wondering what had gotten Lambo into this mood. "Lambo, we all care for you very much! There's no way we would ever abandon you!"

"T-that's what he said too," sniffed the boy. "But then, one day, he took Lambo-sama to school, then never went to pick him back up. Lambo-sama doesn't want that to happen again!"

"Who are you talking about, Lambo?" asked Tsuna. "Who did that to you?"

"B-boss…" said the young boy quietly, and Tsuna felt dread pool in his stomach.

"Boss?" asked Tsuna, "Isn't that what you call your father? Your _father_ abandoned you like that?"

The boy nodded slowly into Tsuna's chest.

Letting out a threatening growl, Tsuna wrapped his arms around his youngest guardian, saying, "Then he has no idea what he's missing, Lambo. You're a wonderful, cheerful, and very loving little boy. I have no idea how he could ever have been stupid enough to abandon you, but there's definitely no way I'm going to make that mistake, alright?"

There was a moment of absolute silence before Lambo slowly nodded his head, saying, "Arigatou, Tsuna-nii."

* * *

SkyGem: Well, there are the first three guardians! I originally wanted to include all the guardians in one chapter, but it got too long. I'll post the next chapter tomorrow. Please review and let me know what you thought, ne? Goodnight!

P.S. I wrote Lambo's part while half-asleep. Forgive me if the quality isn't up to its usual standards.


	2. Mists, Rain, and Storm

SkyGem: Well, it's been a while, but I finally got this second chapter up! I'm glad the last one had such a good reception, and I hope you all enjoy this one as well!

* * *

Tsuna didn't really remember how it had come to this.

Mukuro had entered his office with a report for his most recent assignment, the older male had given the report, the two of them had started their normal friendly banter, then Mukuro had said those words.

"Kufufu, just you wait my sweet Decimo. I will possess that body some day."

And Tsuna, not know what had come over him, asked his mist guardian, "Why not today?"

Clearly taken aback, Mukuro's smirk disappeared into an expression of confusion for a moment before being stuck firmly back in place as the illusionist asked, "Kufufu, and what has brought this on, Vongola?"

Tsuna just shrugged in reply, saying, "You're always saying you'll possess me one day, but you never do it. I was just wondering why that is? Do you even _want_ to possess my anymore?"

Looking slightly affronted, Mukuro replied, "Of course I still want to possess you. It is just that the right time has yet to come."

Tsuna didn't reply to this, merely staring at his mist guardian, with bright, honest, brown eyes that were silently asking him to tell the truth.

Something about those eyes frustrated Mukuro to no end, and before he even knew what he was saying, he was yelling, "Well, what do you want me to say? Do you want me to say that it's just an excuse? Do you want me to say that those Estraneo bastards messed me up so much that I no longer believe that there's anyone stupid enough to want me in their family?"

Tsuna didn't reply; he just let his mist rant, let him finally get it all off his chest.

"When I first met you, I really did want to possess you, but then you just had to go and act like…like…like you! You had to be nice to me and act as if you cared for me! And before I knew it, I didn't want to possess you anymore! I no longer saw the Vongola as a filthy mafia Family, but as my home! And I hate it! I hate you! I hate you so much because when you eventually come to your senses and realize that you don't want someone as messed up as me in your family, when you finally decide to send me away, it's going to tear me apart inside! And I won't be able to do anything about it because you're my sky! Why did you have to do this to me Tsunayoshi? It's too cruel!"

By now, tears were running down the illusionist's face, and his hand were clenched at his sides, the papers in them crushed.

Letting out a small sigh of exasperation, Tsuna stood up from his desk and approached Mukuro, who watched him with sorrowful eyes, but didn't budge an inch.

Arriving in front of his mist, Tsuna didn't hesitate to wrap his arms around the boy's still shaking form.

Mukuro was still for a moment before burying his head in Tsuna's shoulder and letting the sobs wrack through his body, tangling his fingers into his boss's shirt and holding on as if his life depended on it.

For a few minutes, there was nothing but the sound of Mukuro's sobs as Tsuna stroked his back, trying to get him to calm down, not stopping even when his guardian's sobs had quieted completely.

"Oh, Mukuro," he said with a sad little sigh. "Listen to me, alright? There is absolutely no way I will _ever_ send you away, because you're my important mist, and you're Chrome-chan's other half. Do you have any idea how devastated she would be if you left?"

Mukuro shook his head at this. "She doesn't need me anymore. She has you all to take care of her."

Shaking his head in exasperation, Tsuna told the blubbering mess in his arms, "Of course she still needs you! Just because she has other people to look after her doesn't mean she would be okay losing someone precious to her! You are an amazing person, and I couldn't imagine life without you, Mukuro-kun."

Sniffling a little, Mukuro asked, "R-really?"

"That's right," replied Tsuna, pulling away a little to plant a kiss on the illusionist's forehead. "Now cheer up! How are you ever going to possess me with that attitude, hm?"

Giving one last sniffle, Mukuro pulled away and smiled cheekily, saying, "You won't be saying that when I'm in control of your body!"

* * *

It was the anniversary of "Nagi's" death, and Chrome was sitting quietly under a tree in the backyard of the Vongola HQ, supposedly reading a novel.

The girl was too preoccupied, though, with thoughts of the past, and ended up just sitting with her back against the trunk of the tree.

Some time while thinking, though, illusionist must have dozed off, for she was suddenly startled awake by a hand shaking her shoulder.

Looking up groggily, she saw her Boss looking down at her with apologetic eyes.

"Bossu?" questioned the girl.

"Good morning, sleepy head," replied the brunet, a soft smile on his face. "You shouldn't sleep here, you know? You might catch a cold."

"S-sorry," she said, rubbing her eyes. "I didn't mean to fall asleep. I was just…thinking…"

His eyebrows furrowing a little, Tsuna sat down, sensing there was something wrong.

"What were you thinking about?" he asked conversationally.

Looking down at her hands, folded in her lap, Chrome bit her lip, hesitating for a moment.

"I was thinking about…Nagi," she said finally said, pondering for a moment on the strange fact that, in her mind, Nagi and Chrome had become two entirely different entities.

"I see…" said Tsuna, recognizing this as a sensitive topic, and choosing his next words carefully. "What were you thinking about her?"

Chrome just shrugged in reply. "About how pitiful she was that her mother abandoned her…and about how scared I am that the same thing will happen to Chrome…"

The girl still had her dejected gaze glued to the ground, and therefore almost jumped out of her skin when she felt Tsuna's arm snake around her waist, pulling her closer to himself so that she was practically lying across his chest.

"You know what I think?" he said. "I think that both Nagi and Chrome are beautiful young women who didn't deserve what had happened to them."

Chrome didn't reply, feeling a few tears gathering at the corners of her eyes.

"I also think," continued Tsuna, "That it's about time Nagi got to meet Chrome, so that she could share her sweet memories to replace all those bad ones, ne?"

The tears overflowed, and Chrome gave one short nod of agreement.

"Now, why don't Nagi and Chrome show me that beautiful smile of theirs?"

This elicited a small laugh from the female mist guardian as she looked up at her boss with a radiant smile on her face.

Placing a kiss on her forehead, Tsuna pulled her to her feet, saying, "Gorgeous. And now, it is time we go inside so that Tsuna can get some food into the much too skinny and probably very hungry Chrome?"

"Hai, Bossu!" replied Chrome, letting out another giggle and allowing herself to be pulled along by her boss and into the mansion.

* * *

"Thanks so much for making this, Takeshi! I was really starting to miss Japanese food…"

"You're welcome, Tsuna," replied the rain guardian, a smile on his face. "I liked making it; it reminds me of home. And I can't let my skills get rusty, or dad would never let me live it down next time I visited him."

Tsuna smiled at his rain, who was sitting across the dining table from him.

The two were the only ones of the guardians in the mansion at the moment, and they were having a late lunch in the kitchen, the chefs all bustling around them, minding their own business as the two friends talked in their mother tongue.

"You're going to visit him next week, aren't you? Let him know I said hi, ne?"

Takeshi nodded thoughtfully, putting a sushi roll into his mouth and chewing slowly, looking slightly preoccupied.

Then, seemingly out of nowhere, he said, "Thank you, Tsuna."

Tsuna, who had been thinking about things himself, was suddenly pulled out of his thoughts and looked at his friend in confusion.

"For what?" he asked, tilting his head to the side in confusion.

"For stopping me," said Takeshi quietly, laying his head on his arms.

Tsuna immediately realized what he was talking about, and a small smile crossed his face.

"I'm glad I did. I would have lost an amazing friend if I hadn't…but I'm curious, what brought this on?"

Takeshi just shrugged at this, his eyes were glued to the table, but his gaze was somewhat distant as he looked at something only he could see.

"It's just…dad is always so happy whenever he sees me; he always has this huge grin on his face the entire time I'm there. When I think that I might have been the one to take away that smile, I feel guilty that I ever attempted it…and that I still think about it sometimes."

There was a sharp intake of breath when he said this, and a moment later, he felt Tsuna's firm grip on his hand, and looked up to see Tsuna looking at him worriedly.

Letting a small smile stretch across his face, Takeshi shook his head, saying, "I would never really do it. I could never bring myself to do that to you and the others, Tsuna, but sometimes, it just gets so hard, and the thought will cross my mind, like what if I died? Would the others be upset? Would they get over it right away? Would they miss me? Of course I know you would, but there's just those moments of self-doubt…"

Suddenly, the reassuring pressure of Tsuna's hands moved, and Takeshi looked up to see Tsuna getting up from his seat and coming around the table to stand beside him.

Feeling Tsuna's arms wrap around him, Takeshi rested his head against the still standing brunet's stomach, his eyes sliding closed at the feeling of security that washed over him with this simple gesture.

"If thoughts like those ever come to you again, come find me. No matter what time it is, even if it's two in the morning. I'll talk you out of it, alright? Because there are so many, many people who would lose a huge part of themselves if you were to die. So take good care of yourself, alright? So that we never have to feel the pain of losing our rain."

There was a moment of silence before…

"I will."

* * *

It was one of those rare days when Hayato was all alone in the mansion.

Tsuna was at an alliance meeting with Kyoya and Mukuro accompanying him, and the rest of the guardians were on assignments.

Feeling restless, the storm had decided that, to kill time, he would play the piano for a bit.

Before long, the silveret was completely engrossed in his favourite song, one that his mother had taught him before she had died.

It was a beautiful song, but it had a melancholy tone to it that brought tears to it, and before long, there were tears rolling, unnoticed, down his cheeks.

So engrossed was he that, as the last note was fading into the air, the sound of someone clapping made the storm nearly jump out of his skin.

Spinning around in his seat, Hayato saw his boss leaning against the doorway, still with his mantle on.

"J-Juudaime!" he exclaimed, quickly standing up. "W-what are you doing back so early?"

Tsuna shrugged in reply, saying, "The meeting ended early. I didn't know you still played the piano."

"I-I'm so sorry, Juudaime! I won't play it again! It's just that there was nothing else to-"

"Wait a second Hayato, why are you apologizing? And why won't you play again?"

Hayato's eyes widened to the size of saucers when he heard this, and he gaped openly at his sky. "W-well, aren't you…embarrassed?"

Tilting his head to the side in confusion, his eyebrows furrowed slightly, Tsuna asked in a bewildered voice, "Why would I be embarrassed?"

Ducking his head in shame, his cheeks a flaming red, Hayato mumbled, "W-well, why would you want a lowly pianist as one of your guardians?"

"A lowly pianist?" asked Tsuna his voice shocked. "Hayato…being able to play the piano is an admirable talent. There's no way I would think lowly of you for it. In fact, I'm proud of you for it…and I would love to hear you play again!"

Hayato's head snapped up when he heard this, and he asked, "R-really?"

"Of course," replied Tsuna, approaching him and wrapping his arms around his shocked storm. "Don't listen to what all those other people say; they were probably just jealous that they couldn't produce such a beautiful sound."

Hayato blushed in pleasure at the unexpected praise, and his cheeks only became redder when Tsuna placed a peck on his temple.

"Now…would you mind teaching this poor, talentless brunet the basics?"

Flushing again in pleasure, a bright smile lit up Hayato's face and he nodded enthusiastically, saying, "Hai, Juudaime!"

_**The End**_

* * *

SkyGem: Ta-da! What did you guys think? Like it? Hate it? Please do leave a review and let me know what you thought! Ciao!


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